ICE and Sport mode

It just comes on earlier/more often, depending on how you operate the throttle. Still runs in EV primarily with ICE off, if you stay easy on the pedal.

 

I use Sport continually, but have used only 6 gallons over 5200 miles. As noted, the ICE starts if you "punch it."

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This graph shows how NORMAL Mode turns the ICE on earlier in the accelerator travel than ECON Mode and SPORT Mode turns the ICE on earlier in the accelerator travel than NORMAL Mode. Only in ECON Mode does the "click" in the accelerator pedal separate EV from ICE operation.

 

Drive with a light foot in SPORT mode and the ICE virtually never comes on.

After using nothing but SPORT for awhile, I tried ECON the other day and the car just felt sluggish and the accelerator mushy. Not worth it to me for whatever minuscule benefit in gas mileage may result.

 

It's what you get used to. We drive in ECON all the time and it feels normal. When I occasionally try Sport mode it certainly feels more sporty but I just don't need it and switch back to Econ.

I would have to drive in Sport for some time to get used to it. Every time I try it I cause the ICE to come on.

 

I drive in Eco mode 95% of the time and use regenerative braking by using the paddles every time I can to slow down and coast while in ECO mode.

 

Just so everyone knows, there is no true coasting in the Clarity. You are always in lowest 1 chevron regen when you take your foot off the go pedal, even when no chevrons are showing. There are only 4 levels of regen:
No or 1 chevron, 2, 3, and 4 chevrons.

This is why Honda says the most efficient driving is steady moderate acceleration and not pulse and glide as some of us old hyper-milers are used to.
Personally, I like Econ’s default to lowest regen since I always look ahead and “coast” to the next redlight. Then I use the paddles, if necessary, to slow down (trying to time it so I hit the light green) and only have to move my foot at the very end (under 5 mph) of the stop. And often by the time I get there it’s green and I don’t even have to move off the go pedal. That and the brake hold accommodate my laziness quite well. I’m so lazy, I’d rather move my finger than my leg.

 

Here's my take on persistent regen (above the normal level). I'm not suggesting anybody need follow what I do. To each his own. I'm aware this is controversial.

If I were in Sport mode with max regen when I let off the accelerator the car would slow - intentional or not. Then I would have to regain speed which is the biggest power drain on a battery. So I would have to be careful to feather the accelerator so as not to slow the car. Of course in other situations I would want the car to slow. Yes the car regains some battery charge under regen but there are losses so you never regain as much as you spent getting up to speed.

Many who drive in Sport say it doesn't impact their EV Range but I believe it would for me. If the car is "sportier" that means it accelerates quicker which is a drain on the battery, and on the life of the battery. The lower drain is better on the battery. If I drove in Sport mode and didn't take advantage of the enhanced acceleration for a given pedal position then why bother to be in that mode. Econ manages that for me and helps keep me from using extra battery charge.

As I have driven in Sport mode I have caused the ICE to come on. I understand one can control that and learn not to have it happen. To me that is an extra thing to pay attention to. However in ECON mode I don't have to be careful. Entering a freeway I can push the accelerator all the way down until I feel the back pressure of the detent. I get maximum non-ICE power and that click-zone prevents me from kicking off the ICE. If that isn't enough power I could push a bit further and kick off the ICE. But I've not found, in 22,000 miles, the need for that extra power when entering a stream of fast moving traffic. Only two times have I forced the ICE on which was on a two lane highway where I was passing other vehicles.

It would be very difficult to experiment while gathering data to see if Sport mode and high regen is more or less efficient than Econ mode. There are so many variables such as traffic patterns, catching traffic signals or not, ambient temperature, and driver habits. I do believe that the difference, if it really could be measured, is likely to be small, less than 5 miles of range.

I do know that I can almost always beat the projected EV Range posted at the end of a full charge.

 

And my brain is so lazy that I'd rather do what I've done for decades and use the brake pedal. Different strokes for different folks. Options are good.

But I get the impression that the OP thinks that regenerative braking works differently, SPORT vs ECON vs NORMAL. I do not believe that to be the case, other than the paddle memory working slightly differently. Assuming that you don't brake hard enough to invoke the friction brakes, the amount of energy recaptured via regenerative braking, for a given speed-to-stop event, is the same regardless of the mode.

 

I'm right there with you Ken.

 

Agreed, Steve. Unless you’re trying to claim you’re lazier than I am. I’d fight you for that honor, but then I’d have to get up off the sofa.